Sensing control for tabulating mechanism



Nov. 18, 1958 J. B. CLARK SENSING CONTROL FOR TABULATING MECHANISM Filed Feb. 10, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 2

Nov. 18, 1958 J. Bf CLARK SENSING CONTROL FOR TABULATING MECHANISM Filed Feb. 10, 1955 2 Shets-$heet 2 United States Patent SENSING CONTROL FOR TABULATING MECHANISM John B. Clark, Santa Clara, Calif., assiguor to International Business Machines Corporation, New York N. Y., a corporation of New York Application February 10, 1955, Serial No. 487,425 6 Claims. (Cl. 197-179) The present invention relates generally to a tabulating mechanism and more particularly'to automatic tabulating mechanisms in typewriters and the like. The tabulation of typewriters generally in use today is accomplished by manually setting the so-called tab stops prior to a typing operation wherein the tabulating feature of the typewriter is to be utilized. The preparation of different documents often requires different tabulation patterns, and it will be understood that different patterns require that the tab stops be reset by the typist prior to each typing operation.

It is one object of the present invention to provide a new and useful tabulating mechanism for typewriters and the like.

Another object is to provide a tabulating mechanism which is automatic and requires no presetting of tab stops.

A further object is to provide a typewriter wherein tabulation is under the control of the formof the particular document upon which typing is to be performed.

Still another object is to provide a typewriter wherein tabulation is controlled by data recorded on the document being prepared.

A still further object is to provide a typewriter having a tabulating mechanism adapted to sense data recorded on the document inserted in the carriage of the typewriter and arranged to arrest movement of the carriage according to sensed data to position selected portions of the document adjacent the printing station of the typewriter.

Another object is to provide a tabulating mechanism for typewriters and the like wherein tab stops are set while the carriage is in motion.

Still a further object is to provide a tabulating mechanism wherein the tab stops are automatically set immediately prior to use and are automatically reset to their normal position immediately after use.

Other objects of the invention will be pointed out in the following description and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which disclose, by way of example, the principle of the invention and the best mode which has been contemplated of applying that principle.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a typewriter equipped with the novel tabulating mechanism of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a partial perspective view of the typewriter shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the sensing structure utilized herein.

Fig. 4 is a partial perspective view of the sensing structure shown in Fig. 3. t

Fig. 5 is a partial rear elevation of the typewriter shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and discloses the tab setting and resetting mechanism.

Fig. 6 is a partial sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 5. i

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of the electrical circuitry of the invention.

The present invention generally comprises tab setting 2,860,759 Patented Nov. 18, 1958 "ice structure A (Fig. 5), sensing structure B (Fig. 7) for controlling the operation of the tab setting structure, and tab resetting mechanism C (Figs. 5 and. 6) for resetting the tab stops after they have been set.

As disclosed herein, the novel tabulating mechanism of the invention is shown and described in connection with a typewriter and is arranged to control the tabulating operations thereof. However, it should be understood that this disclosure is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention, the typewriter being shown solely to permit a more comprehensive description of a practical application of the tabulator to thereby pro vide a clear understanding of its utility.

A typewriter 10 (Fig. 1) is provided with a tabulaton, although it will be understood that such marks may be inserted on the desired portions of the worksheet at any time prior to its use. The marks 13 are printed with conductive ink or the like and are disposed on the worksheet adjacent areas in which typing is to be inserted by the typist. For example, in the invoice inserted in the carriage of the typewriter shown in Figs.

.1 and 2, the conductive marks 13 are located immediately to the left of the blanks to be filled in, the mark 13a being located just to the left of the area on the invoice provided for the name and address of the addressee. Similarly, other of the marks 13 are disposed adjacent other of the blanks to be filled in, such as order number, item, quantity, etc.

As will become clear hereinafter, the brushes 14 are arranged to operate the tabulating mechanism in response to marks 13 sensed thereby. These brushes comprise a holder. 16 (Figs. 3 and 4) within which a plurality of wires or conductors 17 are independently disposed.

The holder 16 is made of a suitable insulating material such as plastic, and each of the wires 17 is insulated from the others and is both conductive and resilient.

The holder 16 is provided with a recessed pocket 18 exeach wire being arranged to extend downwardly through a corresponding notch 19 in such a way that a portion 23 thereof extends below the lower face 21 of the holder. Each of the wires 17 extends through and is firmly embedded in a transversely extending, integral portion 25 of the holder 16, and it will be understood that the wires 17 may be deflected upwardly into the notches but that they return to the position shown in the drawing when the deflecting force is removed. This insures that the brushes firmly engage the surface of the worksheet.

The holder 16 is yieldably supported against the roller 30 (Fig. 1) of the typewriter by means of a thin steel strap 26 (Figs. 2 and 3) secured thereto by screws 27. The strap 26 is in turn affixed to an] adjustable support member 28 by screws 29. The support member 28 is provided with a threaded aperture arranged to threadedly receive therein a stud 32, a nut 33 being provided to lock the support member in adjusted position. The stud 32 is suitably secured to a post 34 (Fig. 2) which is aflixed to the cover plate 35 of thetypewriter adjacent theprint ing station thereof. The distance between the support member 28 and the roller 30 may, therefore, be adjusted as is desiredtby varying-the depthtto which the. stud ,32 protrudes mtothe aperture31... Thus, the spacing'between the holder 16 .and'the-roller 30"maybe adjusted to that desired, although-due to the provision-of the resilient strapx26 the holdernis readily deflectible away from the roller to accommodate documents of varying thickness such as multiple copy forms.

Alternate wires '17 of the brushes 14 (Fig. 4) are connected to either of two conductors 41- and 42. Conductor 41 (Fig. 7) is connected to the grounded'side of the circuitry shown in Fig.7, the conductor 42 being coupled through a condenser 44 to the control grid of a thyratron 43. The brushes 14 and the thyratron circuitry comprise the sensing structure B of the invention. A power supply 45 connected through a switch 46 to .a suitable source of alternating voltage is arranged to place the potential of a line 47 in the neighborhood of 250 volts when the switch 46 is closed. The cathode of the thyratron 43 is connected through a suitable, biasing resistor 48 to the line 47, and the plate of the thyratron is connected through the winding of a solenoid 49, through the 11/0 a contacts of a relay 51, and through a current limiting resistor 52 to ground. The bias provided by the current flow through the resistor 48 and through a resistor 53 to ground is. suflicient to normally maintain the thyratron cut otf, thereby per- Initting a rather large condenser 54 connected between the cathode and the non-grounded side of the resistor 52 to charge through the resistor 52.

Momentarily grounding the control grid of the thyratron causes it to conduct as long as there is sufiicient energy stored in the condenser 54, the resistor 52 being made large enough to prohibit sufficient cu-rrentflow therethrough to maintain conduction of the thyratron after the discharge of the condenser 54. Thus, when the control grid goes positive, i. e., when it is grounded, the solenoid 49 is energized momentarily whilethe condenser 54 discharges, and upon discharge of the condenser 54 the solenoid 49 is deenergized. As noted above, the conductor 42 is connected-through the condenser 44 to the control grid of the thyratron 43, and when a conductive mark on the worksheet is encountered by the brushes 14 the conductor 42 isconnected therethroughto ground, thereby causing a positive impulse to appear momentarily on the control grid. Thus, when-a conductive mark is sensed by the brushes 14 the solenoid 49 is momentarily energized.

The aforementioned relay 51 is of the latch type and is provided to disable the thyratron 43 during a carriagereturn operation; One side of each of the latch and pick windings, 51L and 51P,'respectively,' of the relay 51- isconnected to a suitable operating voltage, and the other side of the pick winding 51P is connected'through aset of n/ contacts 59 to ground,'the other side of the latch winding 51L being connected through a set of n/o contacts 61 to ground. In the case of an electric typewriter having the carriage-return operation under the control of a carriage-return key, the contacts 59 are preferably under the control of this key and are arranged to close momentarily when it is actuated, thereby energizing the relay 51 and latching the a contacts thereof in their open condition to thereby open the plate circuit of the thyratron. In any case, it will be appreciated that some convenient means should be provided to operate the contacts 59 immediately prior to the carriage-return operation. One side of the contacts 61 is mounted on the frame of the typewriter (see Fig. the other side thereof being,

mounted on the carriage in such a way that these contacts engage one another when the carriage is in its rightmost position. Thus, in the present embodiment, when the carriage-return key is actuated, the contacts of the relay 51 are latched open and thethyratron is disabled until the carriage is returned to its right-most position, at which time the contacts of the relay 51 are unlatched, thereby preventing marks sensed by the brushes 14 during the carriage-return operation from actuating the solenoid 49.

The solenoid 49 (Fig. 5) is suitably supported by a bracket 63 on the rear portion of the frame of the typewriter and, as will become clear, is operative to control the setting of tab stops, when energized. The disclosed typewriter is provided with a well known tabulating mechanism of the type disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent 1,935,436, issued to C. W. Crumrine, displaced tab stops 64 being arranged to engage a tabulating lever (not shown herein, refer to the aforementioned patent) to effect stoppage of the carriage after it has been placed in motion by actuation of the tabulation key. It is common practice to reset tab stops as desired by actuating a tab set key on the keyboard which is arranged with suitable linkage to displace the tab stop in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 6, to its set position. When set, the tab stop is placed in positionto engage the tab lever (not shown) if the tab lever has, been, actuated. (It should be noted that unless the tabkey is actuated the tab lever is in an inoperative position and will not engage displaced or set tabstops; however, when the tab key is actuated the tab lever is moved into position to engage set tab stops. After engagement with the tab stop, the tab lever is reset to its inoperative position until the tab key is again actuated.) For a more comprehensive description of the operation of the tab lever, refer to the above mentioned patent.

The solenoid 49 (Fig. 5 as mentioned earlier, is provided to operate or set the tab stops under the control of conductive marks sensed on the worksheet. A flange 66, formed integrally with the armature 67 of the solenoid 49,'is journaled on a shaft 68 suitably secured to the frame of the typewriter in such a way that the armature 67 is free to pivot about the shaft 68 within established limits, the limits being determined by the solenoid itself and by -a stop 69 bolted to the typewriter frame. The armature 67 is resiliently urged by a spring 70 against the stop 69 and away from the solenoid 49, and is so arranged that when the solenoid is energized, the pointed, tab-stop-set end 71 thereof engages and displaces the tab stop .64 next adjacent thereto.

In many instances tab stops such as those disclosed herein are reset by a bracket similarto a bracket 72 shown in Fig. 5, it being necessary for the operator to actuate a tab clear key on the keyboard, which is operative through the pivoted bracket. When utilizing the automatic tabulation operationof the invention, itis desired to reset the tab 'stops immediately after use, and means (not shown), such as a 'shift lock found on most typewriters in.use today, isprovided for maintaining the reset bracket in its actuated position during this operation. In this way the bracket 72 is operative to reset all displaced tabstops as they are engaged thereby during the travel of the carriage and the tab 'stops'therepast.

When utilizing the automatic tabulation operation, the typist first actuates the tab clear key in such a way that the bracket 72 is locked in its operative or reset position.

Next, the tab key is actuated, which moves the tab lever into its operative position as well as freesthe carriage. to slide to the left, as viewed in Fig. 1. 14 some a conductive mark on the worksheet then inserted in the typewriter, the conductor 42 goes up in po- When the brushes which typing is to be inserted being disposed adjacent the printing station of the typewriter. Further movement of the carriage causes the displaced tab stop to be cammcd or reset to its normal position. Additional automatic tabulation is accomplished in a similar manner. Thus, itis necessary only for the typist to insert a suitably programmed worksheet in the carriage of the typewriter and to then actuate the tab key to cause that portion ofthe worksheet upon which typing is to be inserted to be positioned adjacent the printing station.

It is readily obvious that other means of sensing tabulation data recorded on the worksheet may be equally useful; for instance, photoelectric sensing might be utilized, as anyone versed in the art will recognize. Additionally, other mechanisms for stopping the carriage are equally feasible, the particular structure shown herein being provided solely to demonstrate one operative embodiment of the invention, and it is to be understood that the present invention should not be restricted to the particular structure shown herein.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to the preferred embodiment, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

l. The combination of a printing station, a carriage for supporting adjacent said printing station a worksheet having indicia of a selected printing position recorded thereon a predetermined distance therefrom, means for moving said carriage transversely of said printing station for placing various printing positions of a line of printing positions of said worksheet at said printing station, means for sensing said indicia, means responsive to sensed indicia for impeding the motion of said carriage and operative to position said selected printing position of said worksheet at said printing station, and means for automatically removing said impeding means.

2. In combination, a print station, a carriage for supporting adjacent said print station a worksheet having data recorded thereon corresponding to a selected portion thereof, means for selectively moving said carriage in a first and .a second direction relative to said print station, means for sensing said data, means responsive to sensed data for arresting the movement of said carriage to position said selected portion at said print station when said by said sensing means for deflecting selected stops into an operative position, whereby the movement of said carriage is arrested by said deflected stop according to said sensed data.

4. In a typewriter having a print station and a carriage movable relative thereto, a tabulating mechanism comprising a plurality of stops deflectible from an inoperative position to a position operative to arrest movement of the carriage relative to the print station, means disposed adjacent said carriage for sensing data recorded on a worksheet inserted therein, said carriage being movable with respect to said sensing means and said sensing means being operative to sense data as the worksheet upon which it is recorded is moved therepast by said carriage, means operative in response to sensed data for deflecting a stop corresponding thereto into an operative position While said carriage is moving, whereby the movement of said carriage is arrested according to sensed data to position a selected portion of a worksheet carried thereby corresponding to the sensed data recorded thereon adjacent said print station.

5. In a typewriter having a printing station and a movable carriage for supporting a worksheet adjacent the printing station, said carriage being movable in opposite directions relative to the printing station, a tabulating mechanism comprising means for sensing data recorded on a worksheet supported by said carriage, means operable in response to sensed data for stopping said carriage to position a selected portion of the worksheet adjacent the printing station while said carriage is moving in one direction, and means for rendering said carriage stopping means unresponsive to said sensing means when said carriage is moved in the other direction.

carriage is moved in said first direction, and means for rendering said carriage arresting means unresponsive to said sensing means when said carriage is moved in said second direction.

3. In a typewriter having a movable carriage, a tabulating mechanism comprising a plurality of stops deflectible from an inoperative position to a position operativeto arrest the movement of the carriage, means for sensing data recorded on a worksheet carried in the carriage of the typewriter, and means under the control of data sensed 6. In a typewriter having a printing station, a carriage movable transversely of the printing station in either of two directions for positioning various portions of a worksheet :carried thereby adjacent the printing station, a tabulating mechanism comprising a plurality of stops having an inoperative position and a position operative to arrest the movement of the carriage, means for sensing tabulation data recorded on a worksheet carried by said carriage, said data being recorded on said worksheet adjacent a selected area thereof in which typing is to be performed, means for moving said carriage in a first of said two directions, means responsive to sensed tabulation data *for rendering a corresponding one of said stops operative for stopping said carriage to position the selected area of said worksheet adjacent said printing station, means for automatically resetting said stops to their inoperative position immediately after use, and means for rendering said sensing means inoperative when said carriage is moved in the second of said two directions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,111,619 Fleming Mar. 22, 1938 2,181,992 Ghertman Dec. 5, 1939 2,224,771 Mills Dec. 10, 1940 2,240,562 Lake et al. May 6, 1941 

